Summary

The song appears to be about a person letting go of things that are having a negative impact on their life. This could be about a range of things, but it is likely about a past relationship due to the singer, Florence Welch, and a man featured in the video looking at each other longingly.

Genre

The genre of the music video is indie/pop. Conventions of this genre include settings in a studio, cities, and woodland areas. This video is set in a grand house, which is a slightly less frequent setting for this genre, while a masquerade party is happening. However despite the unusual setting, the combination of this and costume of long dresses and suits, as well as make-up like bold red lips, creates a vintage feeling for the video which is a typical indie/pop convention.

Music and Visuals

Indie/pop conventions tend to go against usual music video conventions of a faster editing style as the songs are sometimes slower. Therefore, they include longer takes, particularly of the singer performing.

Shake It Out conforms to this genre convention, with the editing speeding up when the song picks up pace and becomes more cathartic. This is emphasised by Florence’s energetic dancing, with the editing including some sped up footage mixed with normal and slowed down footage.

The editing also sometimes matches up with the beat of the song, such as when a different note is played.

Lyrics and Visuals

The beginning of the song features the lyrics ‘I can see no way’ with visuals of Florence looking up, as if searching for something.

The suggestion of a past relationship is shown through the footage of holding hands and a masked man accompanied by the lyrics ‘I can never leave the past behind’. This is possibly what she is trying to overcome.

Lyrics and Visuals

Florence discusses a devil, typically associated with the colour red, and this is linked with the mise-en-scene within the video as she is wearing a red dress. She sings ‘shake him off’ which is accompanied by footage of her shaking and dancing .

The word ‘dancing’ within the song is often synchronous with visuals of people dancing, particularly Florence. The suggestion of a past relationship is also emphasised further by visuals of Florence dancing with two men while the lyrics ‘And it’s hard to dance with the devil on your back… it’s a fine romance’.

Lyrics and Visuals

The line of ‘It’s a fine romance’ accompanied by the shot of Florence dancing intimately with a man is cut to a shot of her looking quite tired while the rest of the line ‘but it’s left me so undone’, with the lighting changing from warm to a cooler tone. This helps to convey more of the storyline and the mood it creates.

Record Label Influence

There are many shots of the artist as they perform. This conforms to Goodwin’s theory that the artist is shown frequently to promote and sell their image. This is also emphasised by the mise-en-scene within the music video, as focus is put on the artist by lighting such as subtle spotlights. This is also because of the costume as almost every person within the video is wearing a masquerade mask, yet Florence only wears one once, and is still framed in the center during this scene.